- The opening of Kastelli Airport has been officially delayed at least five times (unofficially, we lost count somewhere after the third promise).
- November 2028 is the current “solid” date, which, in Crete, loosely translates to “let us see how we feel about it later.”
- Nobody wants to challenge the sacred local principle of σιγά-σιγά. Things must ripen naturally. Like olives. Or bureaucratic approvals.
- If something in Crete were ever to open on time, the butterfly effect would be catastrophic: paperwork might flow, buses might arrive, systems might work. Goats would faint.
According to the latest optimistic announcement, the new Kastelli Airport is now more than 65% complete, placing it firmly in the “almost there” category—a status it has maintained for several years, with admirable consistency.
We are told that 2026 will be “decisive,” a word that has appeared in nearly every annual update since the project began. If everything goes according to the current plan — and if history has taught us anything, it will not — test flights are expected in 2027, paving the way for full operations sometime after that, theoretically before the end of the decade, practically whenever the universe aligns.
The airport, we are assured, will become a central aviation hub for the region, operating year-round, with passenger figures from the current Nikos Kazantzakis Airport cited. Numbers are up, optimism is high, and PowerPoint slides are presumably thriving.
Progress, Percentages, and the Art of Sounding Finished
Yes, a runway exists. Yes, a control tower stands. Yes, the terminal is rising, seven levels tall and 93,000 square metres wide. Roads are mostly connected — except for the parts that are not — and the BOAK link is 85% complete, give or take a tunnel, a hillside, and reality.
There is, of course, the small matter of the radar installation at Papoura Hill, next to an important archaeological site, currently awaiting a decision by the Council of State. The green light has been given, the red light has been appealed, and the amber light has settled comfortably in between. Classic Crete.
What the Airport Will Include (Eventually)
The list is impressive. Runways, taxiways, aprons, terminals, parking for everything from helicopters to taxis, a commercial zone the size of a small municipality, and roads going in every direction, some of which may even connect to something useful.
On paper, it is magnificent. On the ground, it is… progressing.
Kastelli Airport is progressing well, as it has for years. Nobody is angry. Nobody is rushing. Nobody expects November 2028 to remain precisely where it is. After all, if things started opening on time in Crete, we would have to rethink our entire lifestyle — and that sounds far more disruptive than another delay.
Σιγά-σιγά. We will get there. Eventually.
